How a lesbian helpline became a sanctuary for queer British women in the 1990s When author Elizabeth Lovatt began digging through the Finsbury library archive, she didn’t expect to uncover a world of anonymous lesbian helpline call logs.
“Lesbian history is too huge a history and subject to tell it all and that’s why I chose to pull out certain callers and intersections to give a sense of that particular facet of lesbian identity and community,” Lovatt reflects.
The Lesbian Line adviser informs the girls about a gay and lesbian group for young people they can join when they turn 16.
“As queer people, we grow up within a straight household, usually, and so we don’t inherit our history in the same way,” Lovatt says of her motivation to study the Lesbian Line.
‘Thank You for Calling the Lesbian Line: A Hidden History of Queer Women’ by Elizabeth Lovatt (Dialogue), £20.
